Dragon Jewel
What happens when a scavenger tampers with dragon magic? Where do the dragons of Pyhrria go when their species are going extinct? What will happen when a war breaks between dragons and scavengers? Well, young Emeralda can answer it all. A gift from her father results on an adventure of a lifetime with dragons, magic, war, and love. Prologue: The Beginning Smolder walked down the hall towards the empty treasure rooms. Blister slowly slithered behind him. He grabbed a key from around his neck and unlocked the door in front of him. When he walked in, everything was gone. Every coin and gem. Just a few grains of sand remained on the stone floor. Smolder couldn't believe it. The SandWing treasure was taken. By scavengers. He gritted his teeth together and turned to Blister, who looked as calm as ever. "So," he started, "it's true. All of the treasure is gone. And so is Mother." He closed his claws around each other and glared at Blister. He looked into the other three rooms to make sure that everything was gone. Nothing again. Just more sand. "Yes," Blister calmly breathed, "all gone. But do you remember what? We have to know what to find if we want them back. Aren't I right, Smolder?" She curved her tail in around her talons, waiting for his answer. Smolder bit his lower lip. "Yes. Let us go up to the chamber and discuss it with everyone," he confirmed. He swerved past Blister to walk back up the tower. Blister raised her eyes and wondered what Smolder was thinking. ---- Burn, Blister, Blaze, Smolder, Bobcat, and Pronghorn gathered around the round stone table to discuss the missing treasures. Smolder began, "Alright. Can anyone remember the important treasures stored in the four rooms?" For the first moments, everyone was quiet in thought. "OH! Lots of gold coins and jewels!" Blaze delightedly beamed up first. Burn groaned. So did Bobcat. "Yes, Blaze. That helps," Pronghorn sarcastically pointed out. "The Sandwing Scepter and the Lazulite Dragon," Blister hissed calmly, ignoring Blaze. "Good. Anymore?" Smolder waved his talons around, open for other suggestions. "The dreamvisitor," Pronghorn said. He then poked Blaze and she whimpered in annoyance. Pronghorn chuckled. Bobcat flicked his tongue out. "What about the...Eye of the Onyx? Was Mother wearing it? Or did she store it in the rooms?" he questioned his siblings. "Of course she stored it!" Burn growled, "she hardly ever wears it. That's the most important item gone." "That's true," Pronghorn nodded, "Now that Mother's dead, no one could be queen. Unless-" "Unless we fight for it," Blister finished her brother. She picked at her claws with a foul expression. Burn frowned at everyone. Blaze was admiring herself in a mirror. Pronghorn poked Blaze to annoy his little sister. Bobcat picked at his teeth from the meat he had eaten earlier. Smolder glanced at everyone then looked back into his mind. He remembered something else. Something else important other than the dreamvisitor or all the others. Granted, the Eye of the Onyx was important, but this was just as important. "What about...the other jewel?" Smolder gulped in nervously. Everyone turned to him in curiousity. "What other jewel? We had tons!" Blaze said brightly. Burn sighed in anger. Blister rolled her eyes at her. "You mean the...emerald one?" Bobcat wondered. Smolder nodded. "Yes, that one. You remember, don't you guys?" he waited for responses. "Ah. That jewel. Yes, but that's not as important as the Eye of the Onyx though, is it?" Blister hissed angrily at Smolder. Bobcat rolled his eyes at her. Blister hissed at him. He backed away quickly. "That is true! Who needs a simple emerald when we need the Eye?!" Burn angrily shouted. Smolder made a small noise of disgustment only Bobcat could hear. If it wasn't so important, than why did Mother keep it? Smolder hoped it wasn't a total lose for them, considering the position they were in. If the Eye of the Onyx was able to start a throne war, what would a jewel like that do? Chapter 1: The Dream The cold chill of the blizzard air worried me, for I sent a note just yesterday to Father. He was probably stuck at the shop he owned from the blizzard. It only took a few hours to send a note to and back to him, but the storm was holding my messaging owl back. I was gazing out the window for any sign of my owl. Soon, I started to see a dark shadow approaching. It was my owl, shivering in the snow. He dropped the note on the table and went to his perch next to the fire for warmth. I quickly unwrapped the parchment and read it. ~ Dear Emeralda, I hope you're warm enough at the cabin. This blizzard is worse than I thought. I won't be home until tomorrow. But in the mean time, keep the door locked, stay away from the village, and watch out for dragons. Be safe. I love you, Emeralda. Love, Father ~ I sighed in relief. As I finished, I pulled out a silver ring with an emerald in the center. It was attached to the letter. Then I noticed Father left another bit at the bottom of the paper. ~ P.S. Someone came into the shop and offered a trade for this ring. He said the emerald is from a dragon's treasure. I took the trade for it. I hope you like it. ~ I smiled at the new ring. I was really happy he got me it. Green was my favorite color. Father told me that he and my mother named me Emeralda because of my emerald green eyes. I slipped the ring onto my finger, fitting like a glove. The silver band of the ring wrapped around the emerald like vines. It was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. Suddenly, the ring started glowing with a radiant green light. My eyes widened. Then with a jolt of terror, a noise came from the front of the house. The door opened and my father walked through. I sighed in relief. "Father, are you alright?" I asked as he took his bag. He stopped and looked at me nervously. I was starting to worry. "What is it? Are you hurt?" I began to walk over to him. "I'm fine it's just...I heard news that Queen Jade is having a hunting party come down in our direction after the blizzard is over. We have to prepare. And I uh..." he stopped and pilfered through his bag. He pulled out a large book with a leather brown binding. It had a gold title. I read it and looked into my father's eyes. "I got a book for you...about dragons," he said with a smile. I smiled back and hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Father. What were you saying about Queen Jade?" I asked with a worried expression. "The Red Knights posted news that Queen Jade was going to send a hunting party to our side of the forest. she'll send it as soon as the blizzard is over. We have to prepare to leave when its over," he explained. I gasped lightly. Queen Jade was the most cruel queen in the whole world. She could take me away from my father, or worse, him away from me. I couldn't let her. Not when I already lost my mother already. "Alright Father. Then lets get some sleep," I reassured him. He nodded and I nodded too. He handed me the book and I walked to my room. ---- I was trying to sleep without worrying about the Queen. Putting ideas in my head only made me more tired. I kept on thinking until my heavy eyelids shut. All my thoughts vanished. It just led to a dream that lasted until morning. I was in the forest, possibly the one close to my home. There was a small, glittering creek that flowed across the forest floor. I saw a strange black figure appear out of the forest. A Black dragon, one of the rarest kinds of dragons to be seen. It had silver stars on its wings which made me stare in awe. It bent its neck to drink from the small creek. Then the dream shifted to a bright grey sky. A blanket of fire was drifting down to the creek. Strangely enough, it wasn't a dragon at all. It was a Phoenix, a fire bird from legend. It glided down to the forest and began to drink from the creek as well. Right behind the black dragon, a long string of sand was curving across the soft green grass. A desert snake, the most deadliest snake of all. Deadly enough to kill a dragon. It slithered cautiously towards the black dragons leg. The phoenix glanced up and began to panic. It flapped its wings around and caught the black dragon's attention. But it was too late. The wily snake zipped at the dragon bit down its fangs onto his lower chest. The poor dragon shrieked in pain and quickly fell to the ground. The phoenix began to cry its healing tears into the creek, right across the dead dragon. The dream started to fade away as the killer snake slithered away. Chapter 2: The Queen I was awake. My eyes were opened up to bright sunlight. My face felt wet and cold. It wiped my eyes and realized they were tears. The phoenix tears were my own. "That was a strange dream," I whispered to myself. I sat up from my bed and stretched. The morning sunlight peeked through my window. I gasped. The blizzard was over already. I got a burst of shock as my father bolted into my room. "Good, you're awake," he said in a low and panic filled voice. "We need to hurry. They will be here soon. Get up and gather supplies." He was rubbing his hands shaking. He was more nervous than I was. "Father, we're not actually leaving," I tried to reassure him. "Didn't you hear me? Pack up and get ready to go." So I did as I was told. I got dressed into my silver armor chest plate and strapped my special dragon sword to my waist. Then I strapped my boots on and my bow and arrows. I grabbed my satchel and filled it with a canteen of water, a small piece of meat, and my sapphire dagger. It belonged to my mother. Then I grabbed my new dragon book and put it inside my bag. Finally, I clipped my bag closed. I was all done packing and ran outside to my father and my horse. We strapped our things to our horses and mounted. I carefully stroked my horse, Ash, across his neck and kicked him into a trot. I sighed in relief as we began to ride into the forest. Back behind me, I could hear cries of men. I turned to see red armor. They were Queen Jade's Red Knights, and I could tell they were coming for us. "Father!" I shouted for him. He turned to me with a worried face. "They've seen us!" "Hurry, Emeralda! Come on!" he kicked his horse into the forest, while I started to follow. But then I looked back and saw the cruel, Queen Jade. She had long black hair with big red lips. She was dressed in a red, sleek dress while she rode atop of a grey horse. Her face looked angry and full of hate. It reminded me of the snake in my dream. "After them!" her crow voice screamed. The soldiers on horseback started charging towards me. I drew my sword and to ready to fight. But then my father starting charging at them from behind me instead. "Father, what're you doing?!" I worriedly yelled at him. "Go Emeralda! I'll be fine!" he yelled. He turned towards the soldiers with his sword. He slashed his sword quickly through every one. Then the last soldier broke his guard and took his sword. He kicked my father off his horse and carried him away. I gasped and cried out to him, but I couldn't reach him. "Get the girl too!" the Queen ordered. The last remaining soldiers started coming after me on foot. In a panic, a kicked Ash into a gallop and darted through the forest. Hopefully, because they were on foot, I would be able to outrun them. After a league or two, I came upon a hill with two split trails. A battered one that went higher up the hill lead deep into the forest and toward the Sky dragon territory. The other trail was neatly laid, going to my left with footprints covered it, leading to the village and Queen Jade's palace. The hitch was Queen Jade never lets her hunting groups go into dragon territory. Was that so promising for me? I kicked Ash up the hill on the battered trail. A large bush stood next to the trail and I turned Ash into it. I dismounted a crouched into the bush to see which trail the soldiers would take. The soldiers approached the two splitting trails and grew hesitant. I lifted my hair from my ear to try and listen to what they were saying. "Where did she go?" one said, twisting around the area. "Bet she went down the village trail," another said. The taller soldier shook his head. "No. She probably went up that hill." He pointed up the hill and my heart began to thump harder and faster. "She's a goner either way," the soldier continued, "if she went up that trail, she's dragon chow. Let's go to the village to be sure." He started to walk down the left path. "But what if she comes back?" one other soldier asked the captain. The captain merely chuckled. "Trust me, if I know dragons, that girl ain't coming back." He waved his hand down the path an the others began to follow behind him. I sighed in relief. As soon as they were gone, I mounted Ash and continued deeper into the forest. I began to wander if I would end up like the captain had said. Dragon chow. I shook my head. I could easily fight one on my own. But I turned my head back to the direction of the palace. My father was captured, and I couldn't save him. A bright white light flashed quickly in the blink of an eye. Thunder boomed afterwards. It was starting to rain. I lifted up my hood and brushed Ash's neck to calm down. I needed to find a place to stay. But more importantly, I needed to find a way to rescue my father. ---- It was dark and wet. The storm had lasted the entire day. Ash and I were both soaking and nervous. I didn't know where I was and it was too dark to see anything. We needed a fire and a dry place to stay. As Ash slowly trotted through the dark forest, I caught a glimpse of an even darker opening, inside a rocky wall. It was a cave. I dismounted and pulled Ash into the cave. I grabbed a blanket and whipped him dry. I cut up some wood and finally a small fire was lit. I unstrapped Ash's saddle and reins and let him lay by the fire next to me. I offered him some oats and a carrot and I slowly ate my piece of boar meat. After a while, me and Ash were warm and slowly drying up. I added some logs to the fire and slowly drifted off into sleep. The fire crackled as I started to dream again. I was back at the creek where I found the black dragon, the phoenix, and the deadly snake. But instead I saw a glistening green creature glide down from the sky to the creek. It was a...green dragon. It wasn't like any dragon I had ever seen before. It shared no similarity to the other kinds of dragons I knew of. It lowered it neck and it began drinking from the creek. Then I noticed the deadly snake had returned. It slowly slithered up towards the dragon's tail. The dragon noticed the snake's arrival and zipped around, both ready to attack. The glare in each pair of eyes thickened with anger. Both of their tongues flickered at each other. The dragon snarled; the snake hissed. Suddenly, both were going into a blow, but then the scene flashed black. Chapter 3: The Dragon I felt a soft nudge on my face. My eyes slowly opened to a small bright light inside the cave. It was morning and Ash was waking me up. I got up and stretched out my tiredness. The fire was completely out. The greenery was dripping rain water from last night. I pulled my hair back and grabbed Ash's reins to come out of the cave. We needed to get back home and find a way to rescue my father. He could be considered a traitor and sentenced to hang. If I didn't find a way to rescue him soon, he would die. ---- I must have missed the right trail. The terrain around me was unfamiliar. There were more tress and higher bushes. Ash didn't like it here, and it spooked me as well. Churning noises of other creatures made Ash and I shiver. Twigs began to snap in the bushes around us. My head kept turning in all directions as the creature kept moving. Something was stalking us. I drew my sword softly. If it was a snake or a cougar, I would need it. The closest sound came from a nearby bush. Hidden inside were a pair of fiery orange eyes. The creature walked forward. It was only a bird, almost as big as an eagle. It had a variety of orange, red and yellow feathers, a few brown ones on its head. It looked almost like flames from a fire. The bird nearly gave me a heart attack. I put my sword away and gazed at its beauty. But then I looked closer at it. Something was coming from its face. It was....crying. I got off of Ash and slowly moved closer. I didn't know birds could cry. The bird looked down on a dead flower. The tears falling from its eyes hit the withered plant. It suddenly started to bloom into a small white daisy. My eyes popped at the scene. Was it magic? What could heal a dead flower so quickly? Then the bird looked up at me. I was out of my mind. Was this a phoenix? The phoenix suddenly burst up and started flying down the hill. He cooed for me to follow. I quickly got up on Ash and raced after it. He brought me further and further down the hill, until he landed on the ground with wet soil and small ferns. I looked around more closely. I got off of Ash and looked in front of me. How could I miss that? My eyes were blank with wonder and surprise. The phoenix led me to a creek. Exactly like the one in my dreams. When I looked back to where the phoenix was, he was gone. I searched the trees and sky for him, but he had vanished. I'm losing my mind. First, a phoenix. Now, a visionary dream coming true. What was I doing here? Well, I was thirsty. Maybe a drink would set my mind off of things. I walked over to the edge of the creek, cupped my hand and sipped. The water was clean, cold and fresh. More purer than any water I had ever tasted. Once I swallowed, I felt a tingle. A good tingle, but a bad feeling. Almost as if magic was in it. I looked into the water to check for anything poisonous or dangerous. But one look into my own reflection made me feel sleepy. The water's reflected sun hit my cheek and my mind was immediately swallowed into my last dream. I was back in my dream from the night before. The green dragon was standing full of pride and a shiver of worry went down its spine. To the side of the dragon there lay the snake; crumpled up in a swerve of death. The dragon had won the fight. It walked back to the creek and calmly drank from it. Its eyes grew wider as it spotted something in the creek. It glistened green in the clear water. An emerald lay in the water. It grabbed it from the creek and examined it. When it swallowed its last sip from the creek, it suddenly turned into a human girl. It was me. ---- I pulled my mind out of the dream. My face was wet, so I shook my face and kept my eyes closed. This creek was strange. I opened up my eyes and gazed at my reflection. But it wasn't my reflection. It was the green dragon from my dream. Was I going nuts? "Am I still dreaming?" I said out loud. The dragon's lips moved with my words. My eyes grew wide and I gasped in shock. I lifted my hand to my face. I gasped again. It was a green claw with golden talons. This couldn't be happening.... I'' was the dragon. I tried screaming, but it only came out as a loud roar. I heard Ash nickering and turned to make sure he was okay. He reared up and then darted into the forest. "Wait! Ash! Come back! No no no!" I shouted for him, but he continued to gallop deeper into the forest. I sighed. I had to hope he would find his way home. ''What am I doing?! This was impossible. Me...a dragon? How did this happen? Maybe it was the water. I splashed my snout into the creek and drank some more. It flowed down my throat, still tasted the same and felt the same. I smacked my lips to take more in. Looking back at my now dragon body, it didn't look like it was changing. Suddenly, I feel wind uproar against my face. I hear a sound around me as if the wind was being controlled by something. I turned around to check. Nothing was there. I then tribes my head to face in front of me. I almost had a heart attack. Right in front of me was an Ice dragon. It was white with light blue horns and dark blue eyes. It stared at me like it was lovestruck or had never seen another dragon before. I tried to stay calm, but honestly I was terrified. This was the closest I had ever been to a dragon. I took a step back and tried to control my emotions. Now the staring was going on too long. "What are you staring at?" I asked it. The dragon blinked and shook its head back into focus. "Sorry," he said in embarrassment, "it's just..your eyes. They're so..." he stopped and looked down. "...beautiful." He pulled his head back up and looked at me with sweet eyes. My eyes met his. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks and my heart thumping. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that..." he apologized. I could see the red flushing from his face. "No need. It's alright, but this isn't what it looks like-" I tried talking him out of my appearance. "It looks like your lost. What are you doing down here?" he asked. "Uh...where else would I be? I don't have anywhere else to go." "Oh," he said in surprise, "you live here? You know, this isn't a place for a dragon like yourself." I sighed and dug deep into my mind. If I go full out with the truth, he might leave or just laugh in my face. Besides, being a dragon could have its advantages, especially if I want to rescue my father. "Well, Ice dragon, if you can take me to a place to stay, then I'll do whatever you ask," I offered. The dragon smiled in excitement and approval. "You don't have to do anything for me. Just follow me." He spread his wings and headed up above the trees. I stared at him as if I didn't know how to fly, because I didn't. I spread my wings like he did and beat them up and down. I began to hover above the ground. I smiled in excitement and giggled a little. I was finally flying. I swerved around the trees and followed behind the Ice dragon. "Wow. You look like you've never flown before," the dragon said to me with a shy smile. "Uh...well I don't fly very often," I nervously replied. Chapter 4: The Haven I never thought flying would feel so great, so extraordinary. I would always imagine it when I was a child, but I never would have known the amazing feeling. The view of the world made my heart touch the clouds. I struggled to keep up with the Ice dragon from my lack of flying experience. From where we were flying, I could see the tops of the Red Castle where Queen Jade ruled over the land. I kept following the Ice dragon southwest. At first, I was a little hesitant to follow him. He was of course an Ice dragon who lived in an cold habitat filled with snow and everything frozen. But soon I remembered that Ice dragons lived farther west. If he didn't live in the Ice dragon territory, then where was he heading? We headed over the forest that I was found in. Then we flew across the plains and fields for almost hours. I saw no sign of snow or felt an cold chill. My newly developed wing muscles were tiring quickly. It was late afternoon when I finally began to fall in exhaustion. The Ice dragon flew back and caught me. I looked up at him, out of breath, and his face was full of worry. "You okay?" he asked. I swallowed and nodded. "Yeah...just never flown this far before." "Well you get used to it." He flew next to me, holding onto my hand- excuse me, claw -reluctant to let go. My grip loosened after a while and my face wrinkled with confusion. He blinked and shook his head to get back into reality and then finally let go of my claw. "Sorry I uh..." he started but stopped. I looked down at the far away ground to hide my small embarrassed smile. I could feel warmth rising into my scaly cheeks and I could see it coming out of his. "We're almost there, don't worry," he said in reassurance. "Where is exactly is 'there'? We're not heading to the Ice dragon territory, that's farther northwest from here," I tried asking in curiosity. "You mean Icewing Kingdom?" he asked. Stress started to warm me up. "Uh yeah. That's what I meant." "You don't get around much do ya? Anyways, yeah I don't come from there. I live on an island with a lot of other dragon tribes," he explained. The mentioning of other dragon tribes made me even more curious. "But...I thought dragon tribes lived with their own kind and usually avoided one another." "That is true, but ever since that smart and evil scavenger queen took over the outskirts of the Icewing kingdom, some Icewings have become exiled. Skywings too." Scavenger? What was a scavenger? A scavenger queen? Was he talking about Queen Jade? "In..scavenger. You mean the queen that lives in the...small castle back where you found me?" I asked. The Ice dragon looked at me confused now. "Yeah. That scavenger." This information intrigue me. Queen Jade had taken over the outskirts of the Icewing Kingdom? And the Skywing Kingdom? How did she do that? True, she was powerful in my kingdom, but no human- or scavenger -had ever driven away or frightened many dragons. At least no human she had ever heard of. I didn't have time to ask any more questions. "Hey there it is," the Icewing said. He pointed across a large river, perhaps a mile wide. Over it, a large island stuck out of the water. The edges were completely surrounded by extremely tall stone walls. Four boulders bordered the front of the isand. All had dragons on them, supposedly guarding the island. "Wait here," the Icewing said. I hovered above the spot he told me to stay while he flew over to a strange amber dragon standing guard. After a minute, he waved his claw for me to come. The amber dragon flew over the wall while me and the Icewing followed. When I went over the wall, my eyes went wide. There was a whole plethora of dragons as far as my eyes dared to see. Icewings, Skywings, and Swamp dragons (or Swampwings I don't know.) "I don't believe we were properly introduced," the Icewing to me. "I'm Uranus. What's your name?" "I'm Emeralda." "Emeralda..." Uranus trailed off. He was giving me the look again. If my scaly talons could snap, that's what I would do. "So, Uranus," the amber dragon- who turned out to be a girl -walked up to us. "Who is this?" she asked. "I'm Emeralda," I answered for him. The amber dragon gave me a slightly disgusted look which made me want to stab her with my sword, if I had it anyway. "I found her in the forest next to the scavenger queen's castle. I brought her here for safety," Uranus explained. For safety? If anyone from Queen Jade's kingdom saw me, they're the ones who would need safety, not me. What did he mean for safety? "What were you doing there?" the amber guard harshly asked. "Do you know how dangerous the scavenger queen is? You think you can just fly around all of Pyrrhia like some high and almighty queen?!" "Thalia! Stop that!" uranus protested. "I don't take orders from you, Uranus. I need to know what she was doing there and why she should be here!" I tried to barge into their arguement (even though they were talking about me while I was standing right there.) "Excuse me, but I have been living there all my life. Ever since I was born!" Dragons around us starting gasping and mumbling. I could hear questions such as "how?" and "what is she?" Most of which involved her appearance. "You have?" Thalia questioned with half a look of concern and impressed. "Yeah....kinda." I didn't want to bring up the fact that I had mostly been a human all my life, until this day. Thalia still eyed me down with authoritive guard-eyes. "Uranus, you are now responsible for her. If there is any strange behavior from this strange dragon, she is out." Thalia then grabbed her guard spear and flew back over the wall. I sighed in relief. She was finally gone. Uranus walked up to me with a guilty expression. "Uh...sorry about that, Emeralda. Thalia can be a pretty serious guard a lot, but she and you could be friends. I swear." "It's okay, Uranus. And I'm not so sure it'll work out from the position I'm in now," I tried reassuring him. But even though the whole getting-past-the-gate ordeal was over, I was still confused on what this place was. "So, Uranus, what is this place really?" I asked. "Oh, well, it's a refuge for all the victims of the scavenger queen's take-over. It's secret, so don't tell anyone. We call it the Dragon Haven," he explained. Dragon Haven? A refuge from Queen Jade? I didn't think in any universe, or according to Thalia, in any Pyrrhia I would ever hear the words "haven" and "dragon" in the same sentence. ---- I followed Uranus toward the caves. All the way, every dragon stared at me with curiosity and suspicion. I tried hard not to look them in the eyes. I received the same stares when I went to the village for the first and last time. Everyone not knowing who I was, thinking I was some alien from another world. I ducked my head and planted my eyes on the rocks. Frag, I wished I had my cloak to hide under...and my father to comfort me. Uranus looked back and was struck with distraught. His eyes moved to the dragons surrounding us. He extended his wing around my neck and hissed at the Skywing that stared at me the longest. His Icewing scales made me shiver, but it was the best thing I had for comfort. We finally reached the caves and Uranus lifted his wing from me. I sighed in relief as we entered the darkness, away from the dragon eyes. It was almost like I hadn't changed at all. I couldn't have been that strange of a looking dragon. Frag, I shouldn't have been a dragon! I couldn't really see Uranus very well in the dark of the cave. It looked like he rubbed his neck. "So uh... I can't really light a fire. I was wandering if you could," he said awkwardly. Fear and stress tiggled my scaly skin. Light a fire? How the frag do I do that?! I could myself getting sick. But I knew I had to try, even though I didn't know if the dragon I was could breathe fire. "Emeralda? You okay? Can you breathe fire?" Uranus asked with a bit of a shameful look. My eyes fluttered nervously. "Uh...give me a sec," I answered quickly. I straightened myself and tried to imagine heat inside my stomach. I didn't think it would work anyway. But then I could actually feel fire inside me. I roused it up my throat, it felt like creating my saliva. Uranus quickly retrieved a log and placed it on the ground. I opened up my dragon mouth and the fire spat out and unto the log. I put my tongue on the roof of my mouth to keep from laughing. I breathed fire! I was a fire breathing dragon! I coughed up smoke and Uranus smiled with approval. What was strange is that he stared at my forehead while I produced my first flame. My brow lowered in confusion. "What?" I asked. Uranus blinked and focused back on my eyes. "Sorry... I was just wondering...how long have you had that jewel on your head?" Confusion turned to surprise. I raised my claw to my head. I felt a diamond-shaped, glassy gem attracted to my head. My brain fought to calm myself down. Just say something! You're not even a real dragon. "Uh..." My voice shook, "I-I don't know. I was sorta...born with it." I almost ended with a question. Then a light flashed in my head, going back to dragons staring at me. "Wait...is that why everyone was staring at me?" Uranus lowered his head at the ground, most likely thinking to himself. His eyes filled with shame. He nodded, "Yeah, I think so." I lowered my head as well. How had I not noticed it? And why did I have a jewel in the middle of my head? "But hey," Uranus blurted out quickly. "Don't pay attention to them. Your jewel is beautiful. You're-" He covered his mouth before he finished his sentence. I knew what he would say, and it made me blush. I giggled a little too. I hadn't really been thinking about Uranus at all. He had brought me here. It was quite an experience. I had to thank him. "I never got to thank you, Uranus. So...thanks," I said with a smile. Uranus smiled a lot bigger and coughed to cover his joyful laugh. "Anyways, uh, you get some sleep. I'll show you around in the morning," he cleared up his words. Uranus turned to go and then turned back. "See you, Emeralda." He said it softly to me and I said goodbye too. I placed the log I lit in the center of the room and began to make a first attempt at sleeping as a dragon. I lowered myself to the ground. My long neck prevented me from laying on my forearms, so I looped my back across and stared at the fire. I drifted into a daze before realizing what I really needed to do. I had to get out of Dragon Haven and rescue my father. Chapter 5: The Hunt Bright light hit my face and my eyes blinked several eyes before giving into the morning. I regained feeling of my dragon body as I tried stretching. My legs were sore, and my tail felt numb. After sleeping on solid rock, I will never again complain about sleeping on solid wood. I stretched out my new limbs, flexed out my claws, and lifted my wings in all directions. It may not have been a very comfortable night's sleep, but at least there was no nightmares. Although I was hoping me being a dragon was the nightmare. The torch I lit the previous night was completely snuffed out with only a scent of smoke rising from it. I lifted the log up and was about to lite a flame when I noticed the cracks in the cave walls. I stuck my claw in one crack and brought it back to smell. It was oil, or more likely, oil shale; it was flammable. I mustered another flame on the torch and slid the fire through the cracks, lighting up the entire cave with a warm orange glow. My gaze turned to the entrance of the cave, where the white scales of Uranus walked in and stared in awe at the fire within the walls. Afterwards, facing me with his adorable eyes. "Good Morning, Em," he said with a teasing smile. "You don't mind if I call you Em, do you?" I gave a slightly tired smile of approval. "No, not at all. No one's ever given me a nickname before." Well the only person who had ever said my name was my father (and my mother I'm sure at one point.) Uranus chuckled slightly, which sounded like embarrassed laughter. "Well I-I uh..." He stammered and then cleared his throat, remembering why he came. "Are you hungry? Me and my friends are going hunting. You wanna come?" His eyes twinkled with hope. I wanted to say yes, because hunting was something I knew how to do. But then again I had never hunted as a dragon before. I've only ever used my sword and bow and arrows, never with teeth and claws. But I saw how badly Uranus wanted me to come, so I couldn't say no. "Sure, why not?" ---- I stayed close to Uranus and kept my head down as we walked. I'd had enough of the suspicious pairs of eyes staying at me. Luckily, every dragon around was either busy our talking to someone else. Uranus noticed my wanting-to-hide behavior and switched from excited to concerned. "Hey," he softly spoke toward my ear, "don't worry about what they think. What you think is what's important." I looked up to him with gratitude. "Besides, you need to show Thalia and everyone else how special you are," he continued with pride. "Start by not being afraid to show yourself; your uniqueness." He smiled gently and I smiled back. Butterflies danced on my face as the smile crept up my cheeks. I had only known Uranus for a day and he already sounded like he knew me. He sounded like something my father would say. Oh my father... I needed to remember- But all my thoughts were lost to Uranus and his soft face. I straightened my neck and lifted my head up. I was a dragon, right then and now. Not like any dragon in this world. I shouldn't be ashamed of that. It was quite fascinating to be the top predator of the world, it was time to learn how to become one. "Here we are," Uranus said. He opened his wing up and showed the view. We were at the edge of the island, standing by a cliff and looking down to see a beautiful waterfall skating downward to a pebbled river. A few dragons were chatting, smiling, and laughing as the fresh mist showered them. "This is Draco Falls," Uranus explained. "An awesome dragon hangout. Me and my friends come here all the time. There they are now." He pointed his talon to two Icewings next to reach other: a pearly white female with blue freckles and a pale blue male with dark blue freckles. Uranus took off and I quickly flew behind him. I prayed that they wouldn't hate me like Thalia did. "Strider! Sephora!" Uranus shouted with excitement as he landed next to the pair. "Uranus! Where the moons have you been?" the female asked. "And who is that?" The male looked at me in a similar way Uranus did when we first met. My mind scrunched in confusion. I didn't know if I was drop-dead gorgeous or so strange to the dragon eye. The female saw his face and looked at us both with her cold eyes. I shivered a little at the sight. "Guys, this is Emeralda," Uranus introduced, his voice so full of pride. Apparently, I was his crown jewel on display. He shifted from me to the male, "Emeralda, Strider. Strider, Emeralda." Then he shifted from me to the female, "Sephora, Emeralda. Emeralda, Sephora." I gave a small smile to the both of them in hopes of making new friends, which I was very new to. "Hey," I said softly. Both the Icewings nodded, but only Strider had a pleased look. "She's new, so is it cool if she comes hunting with us?" Uranus gave the same hopeful look to Strider and Sephora that he did to me. "That's cool with me," Strider replied with a smile. I got another shiver down my spine. "I guess so..." Sephora said with a hint of a grumpy tone. I lowered my eyes away from her gaze. She looked like she was about to frost me. I didn't exactly know start I did wrong. "Alright then! Let's head out. Lead the way, Stride," Uranus enthusiastically said. Strider took flight ahs Sephora blew a gust of wind at me in silence add she followed. I grimaced and looked down at the river. I couldn't seem to get any female dragons to like me, even though I did absolutely nothing. "Hey, you okay Em?" Uranus put his claw on my shoulder. I blinked back up at him, not sure what to say. "Yeah," I responded with a reassuring smile. I couldn't assume that Sephora didn't like me. I didn't know her, for ask I knew that could've been how she acted normally. It could've been a signal that she did like me. But she didn't know me either. She couldn't do quick to judge as well. "Okay, follow me!" Uranus lifted and I took off with a sigh. I hoped that I would make friends today. ---- Category:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Canon) Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete) Category:Content (Negora1)